Study reviews river basin woes

A draft study recommends the Army Corps of Engineers play a greater part in resolving water resource problems in the Withlacoochee River basin.

By JOSH ZIMMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 17, 2000

INVERNESS -- After six months of talk and research, the regional office of the Army Corps of Engineers is recommending an expanded federal role in resolving environmental problems throughout the 2,100-square-mile Withlacoochee River basin.

The recommendation appears in the preliminary draft of a reconnaissance study released last week to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The report will not become final until the district comments on the study and corps division director Col. Joe Miller reviews it, agency spokeswoman Jacquelyn Griffin said.

But although some of the details might change, Griffin said, the recommendation to proceed to a four-year feasibility study will remain.

"We feel that we do have enough information to say it's (corps involvement) in the public interest and should continue," Griffin said. Miller is expected to sign the report within the next several weeks, she said.

The draft report will be circulated among top Swiftmud staffers, including the deputy executive director, Dave Moore, and the resource management director, Bruce Wirth, spokeswoman Robyn Hanke said. The district's governing board is scheduled to review the report in October before determining its commitment to Phase II of the project.

The district has tentatively agreed to be the local co-sponsor for the proposed $6-million feasibility study, which would take a detailed look at proposed environmental restoration projects along the length of the 157-mile river.

Swiftmud has signaled support for the project before. Last year, it even pledged to finance the $100,000 reconnaissance study, along with another $100,000 for a similar study of the Hillsborough River basin, before Congress agreed to fund studies on both basins.

Once signed, the draft will be sent to corps headquarters in Washington for final review, Griffin said.

The corps' decision could have widespread ramifications for an eight-county area that includes large parts of Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Marion, Sumter and Levy counties. The reconnaissance study, which began in January with a series of public meetings, identified widespread problems concerning water supply, flood control and wetlands restoration issues.

In a sense, the corps is covering old territory. In this study and in its 1961 Four Rivers Basin study, the agency recognized the importance of the sprawling Green Swamp, which forms the headwaters of the Withlacoochee River.

Specifically, the reconnaissance study identified nine major areas of concern:

water control structures at Lake Rousseau, the Lower Withlacoochee River and the Cross Florida Barge Canal.

restoration of 150,000 acres of Swiftmud-owned land.

restoration of Lake Panasoffkee. The state has embarked on a $26-million project to dredge the lake bottom, remove muck and restore fisheries.

restoration of the 19,000-acre Tsala Apopka Chain of Lakes.

water quality of the Withlacoochee River and its tributaries.

vulnerability of the Floridan Aquifer -- the region's main drinking water source -- due to the basin's karst geology, which is characterized by springs, sinkholes and caves.

water supply alternatives, including conservation, reuse, aquifer storage and recovery and desalination.

aquatic plant management.

flood protection. The study recommends developing a Watershed Flood Management Program.

The corps' history in the basin dates to the late 1800s, when Congress designated the Withlacoochee River a navigable waterway. The corps also played an integral role in failed plans to build the barge canal, which was supposed to connect Florida's east and west coasts but only got as far as what is now Lake Rousseau.

The corps' current role was largely dictated by local divisions.

Until recently, Swiftmud had a rocky relationship with many local residents, largely over its opposition to reinstalling the Wysong Dam and removing dikes in the district-owned Potts Preserve and Flying Eagle. Eventually, residents, the district and the state Department of Environmental Protection turned to the corps as an objective party to resolve ongoing disputes.

L.C. Alexander, a longtime activist from Inverness, is skeptical of the corps' role for a couple of reasons.

Although he feels the corps is the best agency for the task, he said he fears it may be tempted to deprive the Withlacoochee River of its natural water flow from the Green Swamp to satisfy the water demands of fast-growing areas around Tampa Bay.

In addition, he does not want local projects delayed while the corps spends another four years agreeing on an action plan. He listed reinstallation of the Wysong and the restoration of Potts Preserve and Flying Eagle as priorities.

"We need very much to have an overall plan and maybe the corps is the one to do it," Alexander said. "But I don't think it should be done at the expense of things that should be done before we have another million people (in the area)."

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